What do you think of when you think of the word ‘reach?’ Maybe you are thinking of a child reaching for a piece of food that his or her mother is holding. Maybe your mind is drawn to reaching a destination, such as your grandma’s house or the grocery store. Or maybe your thoughts go to reaching a goal, like staying within your budget. Possibly you are like me and think of the event with the name ‘REACH’ that Faith Builders Educational Programs hosts every two years.
REACH is a Christian event that brings Anabaptist-based ministries together. The event is geared toward learning about specific ministries, different challenges that Christian ministries face, or raising awareness about a specific subject. The creators of REACH have a desire that the Good News would reach around the globe.
This two-day event (usually a Thursday and Friday) begins around 8 AM and lasts until 7 or 8 PM each day. REACH is attended by 2,000+ people! Both days begin with everyone gathering in a huge auditorium for the first main session of the event. Following this opening session, there are smaller breakout sessions scattered throughout the day, as well as two larger general assemblies. There are also specific time slots designed to draw attention to the 54 ministry displays that are set up in a large room. (This part of REACH is a lot like a vendor show.) Each ministry is also given a time slot or two of about 30 minutes to share what their ministry is about.
Both times that I attended this event, I was blessed by the speakers who shared about their specific ministry or who were sharing on a specific topic. If you are an introvert, the amount of people can seem overwhelming, but it is so worth it to attend REACH and hear how God is working in other parts of the world!
The Heralds of Hope team is excited to be a part of this event in a few days! We hope to see you there!
-Janette Martin